The Challenge for Guidance
by DracoPathos
Summary: The school counselors have tried everything, but nothing and no one seems to be able to get across to Farfello. Finally, as a last resort, they fall back on their newest peer counselor, and Dragon finds herself face to face with something new.
1. Transfer Students

I've never been quite sure why I agreed to take the job in the first place. That statement probably gives a rather wrong impression, but it's nothing horrible, just a little dangerous at times. Actually, it really shouldn't be as dangerous as it tends to be. After all, I'm just a peer counselor. All I know is that I went to guidance one day and was asked if I was interested, and, since it got me out of class, I agreed to it. Why not? How hard could it be, right?  
  
How could I know what they really expected of me?  
  
Well, two group meetings into the position, I was asked to join the school psychiatrist for a little "chat." All I could think was "Great! There goes my skip ticket!" I was pretty sure that they had unanimously decided that I was too crazy myself to help other disturbed students; therefore I was completely expecting them to kick me off of the counseling team. At this point, I'm not sure whether it was fortunate or not that my guess at the conversation's topic was so off from the truth.  
  
"We have a request," was the first thing I heard upon sitting down in the little office. "There's a boy, a newly transferred senior, whose housemates have asked us to put in the school therapy program. Unfortunately, none of us have been able to get across to him and we were thinking that maybe one of his peers might be able to make better headway. Since you have had such success with the group sessions in the short time you've been working with us, we decided that you would be the best choice to try with him. I wanted to ask you first, though, just to make sure you didn't have a problem with it."  
  
My position was an odd one, something between total relief and utter confusion. I was glad they hadn't decided to kick me out, but to be the sole counselor for a student no one else had had any success with…? Did they really think I could do better than the professionals? I mean, what could I do that they couldn't? Once again, I'm not sure whether it's fortunate or not, but I said yes. After all, I do tend to be a rather curious person, and no one can ever accuse me of being too cautious.  
  
So, mere moments later, I found myself sitting alone in the peer counseling room with my new charge, and I nearly wet myself when they walked the guy in. I mean, if they couldn't crack into him with their PhDs on the wall, what was I supposed to do? My outlook became increasingly bleak as he took his seat, and, when they closed the door, my sun all but went out.  
  
I looked back and forth between the spiky, white hair on his head and the smooth, printed pages in my lap. The psychiatrist's handwritten notes were scratched in blue ink on black lines in a frightening mirror image of the scars on the boy's face. Oh this should be special, was the only thought in my head as I met a single, gold eye, the left one covered by an imposingly black patch.  
  
Oh now this was just silly. Two group sessions went good so they thought I could handle the real crazies? Well, let me tell you, there's a major difference between high school rejects and certifiable psychos.  
  
We stared at one another for a long moment, neither of us quite sure how to respond to the other. How was I supposed to start this? At least in group I could say "Okay, now introduce yourselves." Here, though, it was just he and I, staring each other down. It didn't help that I could practically hear him debating in his head over how to react to me. Should he be violent? Should he stay calm? Should he ignore me? Should he listen? Should he stay silent? Should he talk? There were so many questions running blatantly across the back of his eye.  
  
After a rather long span of undisturbed silence, I started to get a little edgy. He wasn't even moving, blinking, anything, but just sat there, staring at me from that scarred face. And as I stared back, his paleness started to stand out from the black of his T-shirt and jeans. Suddenly he was glowing like some angel that God had viciously punished for following Lucifer, when in fact the poor angel hadn't followed the damned one at all, but, because God is almighty and can't admit to ever being wrong for fear that someone will question him, the punishment was carried out anyway.  
  
Suddenly, as if he'd heard my thoughts, my charge smiled at me. "Hello." 


	2. Nextdoor Neighbors

Draco: *smiles and waves, then blows her nose* Since I'm sick, have nothing better to do, and received support on this one, I'm writing more. I think I'm gonna dedicate this to Sakki-san, too, 'cause she makes me laugh so much and is the only person I've ever read stuff by who's made Farfie sound so much like Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. *sneeze* Um…ew…  
  
* * *  
  
Well, taking into consideration our first session, I should have completely expected everything that came to pass afterwards. I had in my hands a boy who was a lot smarter and less dangerous than people gave him credit for, with exception to his random bursts of psychosis in which he wanted to "hurt God" or something. But those moments were few and far between in school, and together we dealt with them fairly well. With him as a charge, though, it seemed like I spent more time in guidance than in class. Trying to keep up in school became a sort of mess until the psychiatrist talked to my teachers and got them to make all sorts of exceptions for me. Suddenly I was apparently one of the most important people in school, and teachers I did not even know worked there knew my name.  
  
Fact is everyone who had met Farfello before I started talking to him had had a bad run in. Thanks to his conversations with me, he was apparently doing better in school and had not had any violent episodes in class. All things considered, I would have been honored, if it hadn't become such a little thing to me. He was kind of like one of those friends you let initiate all the conversations for lack of something to say, but enjoy having around some times. And I did enjoy having him around, our talks were great, but I do have a limit.  
  
Finding out he lived next door was my limit.  
  
I would not have had a problem with it if he had not walked out with his housemates while I was mowing the lawn. It probably wouldn't have become a factor at all otherwise. Once again, the fortune to it is uncertain. He came over with a big smile, apparently the first smile his companions had seen in a while, and, of all things, hugged me.  
  
The red-head who had followed him over just blinked and made the most surprised face I had ever seen, and the black-haired guy with glasses went from looking perpetually irritated to interested. Behind them, a kid I recognized from my computer classes, one of those guys who always looks way too serious for his own good, gave an amused little smile. Sighing, I just hugged my new friend back and listened to his random burst of psychotic rambling.  
  
Somewhere in there I found out that the red-head was Schuldich, the guy with glasses was Crawford, and the kid was Nagi, which I already knew. They were going grocery shopping, which seemed exceedingly funny to me as I looked across the group. I just could not imagine them all going shopping together without some horrible argument taking place. Then I was introduced as Dragon, mainly because Farfello preferred that name to any of my others, and somehow I got invited to dinner.  
  
When they left, I stood there in my yard for a few minutes, the lawn mower still running, and wondered how I had managed to agree to eating at that house with those people. Farfello and Nagi I liked. They were the people I dealt with regularly. Schuldich seemed okay, but I could have sworn I heard him making comments about the scarred psycho's ranting when his mouth was not even moving. Then there was Crawford, who sort of gave me the creeps, but it was more that he just bugged me.  
  
Well, this should prove to be special.  
  
* * *  
  
Draco: *sniff* Okay…so it's not as good as the first chapter, but I had to get myself from school to dinner somehow. 


	3. Dinner Time

Draco: Dinner time!  
  
* * *  
  
That evening, I stared across the table in slight disbelief. My four neighbors had come home, all in as many pieces as they had left in, and then had cooked a meal the size of my family's holiday dinners. Apparently Nagi had done the cooking. Crawford had been too busy with work, Schuldich had just avoided the kitchen, and no one really trusted Farfello to cook. It all looked wonderful, if only I felt hungrier. Nervousness had sort of taken over as soon as I had walked through the door.  
  
Farfello promised to show me around the house as soon as we all finished eating, and Nagi talked to me a little about our computer class, but the other two seemed to be studying me or something. I kind of felt like a caged animal at that point. There was no way to escape, and I didn't want to run out on the two who were being nice. Crawford was treating me somewhat like a test subject. He just stared at me through the whole meal. Schuldich on the other hand seemed rather amused.  
  
I had discovered, quicker than he had expected apparently, that the redhead was wondering around in my head. It was something I was used to dealing with, having had a less than normal life thus far, and I knew how to deal with it. He seemed surprised at first when I blocked him out, then the amusement set in. This was a fun game for him, and he was more than willing to test my limits.  
  
"So, Dragon," Crawford's voice broke the silence coldly. "I hear you've been able to help Farfello here."  
  
I forced a smile that I hoped didn't look too nervous. "I'd hope so. That's the point of counseling after all."  
  
Schuldich then laughed. "The nutcase doesn't really talk about anything from school other than you."  
  
"He's been calmer lately," Nagi added softly to the others' comments, casting a disapproving glance at his red-haired housemate.  
  
I nodded, having a little trouble keeping the smile plastered on. "That's good."  
  
After a moment's silence, we all began to eat. It was almost as if something had clicked in all of our heads at the same time. Small talk was over for now, and hopefully it wouldn't go on too long after the meal either. In truth, I was praying to get Farfello's tour of the place, say goodbye to Nagi, and avoid the others all together, but it was doubtful that that would actually work out. Both of them kept watching me, Crawford over his glasses and Schuldich rather blatantly through a little bit of fallen hair. This, I decided, was going to be a long evening.  
  
* * *  
  
"What do you do other than peer counseling?"  
  
Once again, I forced a smile at Crawford. In the past hour's conversation, I had discovered that my black-haired host was a senior at the local college, majoring in, not surprisingly, business management, and he worked as a management intern for one of the big companies in the area. Then there was Schuldich, who was a sophomore at the college majoring in liberal arts. Nagi, as I knew, was a high school junior, taking almost exactly the same classes as me.  
  
"Well," I sighed, "I'm in the school theater troop, National Honor Society, and FBLA."  
  
That last one seemed to, amazingly enough, perk his interest, and I spent the next half hour discussing what I did for my FBLA chapter. Somehow, I'm not sure in any way how, I ended up agreeing to speaking with Crawford's boss. Apparently they had been looking for a decent price for a good website developer, and Nagi had rather adamantly refused to fill the position alone. By that point, I think my head was about ready to explode. Great! Now I had a job! I didn't mind that I would be working with Nagi, that actually made thing easier, but I'd have to make regular trips to Crawford's office and Nagi and I would have to switch off on who spoke at planning meetings. My quiet classmate and I shared a helpless glance and sighed in unison.  
  
The conversation then continued, and I got swept away in it again, until Farfello saved me. He developed a sort of nervous twitch sitting there listening to us all talking, and ask me to go talk. I tried not to seem too happy as I excused myself and walked with him to his bedroom. Nagi followed suit and disappeared into his own private quarters.  
  
"They don't stop," he muttered, closing the door as I took a seat on the bed. "They never stop talking. If they aren't talking, they're arguing, though I suppose arguing is a sort of talking isn't it?"  
  
As he rambled on like that, plopping down on the floor in front of me, I continued listening, but my eyes roamed the room. I hadn't had much time to look around before. It had been a rather quick tour because, much to my dismay, Crawford had wanted to speak with me.  
  
The little room my crazy friend lived in seemed rather cold and oppressively blank. There was a small closet on one wall, a window opposite the door, and a bed opposite the closet. Everything was painted white, very white, and it would've been blinding if there had been more light than the sinking sun. As I listened to the long stream of mumbled nonsense and grumbled complaints issuing from my charge, I made a mental note to give him a poster or something. He needed it. After all, a person's room is never comfortably their own until they personalize it somehow. 


	4. Shopping Spree

Draco: ^_^'' Yeah.I'm trying to update everything gradually this week and then do a massive update next week after exams.  
  
Farfie: Stress does not hurt god.  
  
Dragon: -_-;; Now is not the time Farfarello. My head hurts enough already.  
  
* * *  
  
I really got myself in deep that next Saturday. Nagi and I had gone to speak with Crawford's boss Friday night and now officially worked together. On the plus side, we made pretty good money on a monthly basis, and we got $500 under the table that day for having a web template up and running before the meeting was over. As scared as I was of the prospect of an actual business job, I was feeling pretty good by the time we left, and made plans with Nagi for my girlfriend and I to take him and Farf out shopping Saturday afternoon. It wasn't until that morning that I really realized what I'd done.  
  
All my girlfriend, Megan, could say was, "Well, you wanted to decorate the crazy one's room, didn't you?"  
  
So the boys joined us for lunch with Megan's family, through which my white haired charge was frighteningly calm and polite, and we shopped. Nagi seemed exceedingly nervous as he wandered around with us. Apparently he'd never gone out like this before, let alone with so much money. Farfie, on the other hand, fell happily into the role of the insane mall rat so quickly that I was threatening to buy a leash and collar for him before we had gotten ten yards from the restaurant.  
  
Megan tapped me on the shoulder as we rounded the first corner. "Mind if we pop by Spencer's© real quick?"  
  
"Sure," I shrugged, "why not? Maybe I can buy some handcuffs and hook Far here to a railing for a while or something."  
  
Before he managed to process that comment, I grabbed the nut and dragged him into the store of commercial oddities and pop culture. Darkness quickly drew him to the blacklights in the back, and he babbled about the glowing merchandise as the rest of us followed a little slower. I was surprised to find that seeing him so excited made me happy. Until that moment, I hadn't really realized how close he and I had become. Taking care of him actually made me feel better about myself in some strange way.  
  
Smiling, I turned to see what Nagi was up to while Farfello discovered that the lightning in the one globe followed his fingers along the plastic surface. I found the quiet brunette quickly, and barely managed not to burst out laughing. There my innocent, little friend stood, holding a box of flavored massage oil.  
  
"It heats up when ya blow on it, ya know?" I commented absently, leaning over the shelf towards him with a grin slashed across my face.  
  
I think he just about wet his pants, eyes gone wide on his pale face, and he hurriedly dropped the object of interest as Megan joined us. Laughing, she stood behind him and ruffled his hair playfully. Thoroughly embarrassed, Nagi neglected to buy anything on our way out. Farfello, on the other hand, left with a blacklight, a lava lamp, a glow-in-the-dark dragon poster, and some blacklight paint, babbling excitedly all the while about how he wanted me to come draw on his walls for him.  
  
We were halfway down the escalator when Megan pounced me, giggling, and announced that she had an idea. "Let's play dress up! We can go to different stores and Nagi and Farfie can be our Barbie Dolls!"  
  
Even Farf looked nervous about it, but I'm apparently not the only one who has trouble saying no to my girlfriend. Moments later, I had become a Barbie Doll, too, and we followed Megan around helplessly as she tossed clothing into our arms. I wasn't even sure what the store was called. All I knew was that I was holding a men's suit on top of a pleather mini-skirt on top of hell knows what else, and it was stacked high enough that I couldn't see over it. About half an hour later I finally stood outside the dressing rooms in a black business suit and black silk shirt, donning a crimson tie, all the while thinking that Crawford would probably be highly impressed. Nagi soon joined me, blushing and feeling rather awkward in a wife-beater, black jeans, and a cowboy hat. I slicked my hair back and smiled at him, shrugging. Then we added sunglasses to our outfits in unison and made our way out to where Megan was waiting to see.  
  
As she looked us over, cooing in her odd little way, and Nagi's face slowly attracted an increasing amount of blood, Farfello finally made his way out. One of the girls nearby dropped everything she was holding, and Megan's jaw fell. Even such astonished reactions couldn't prepare me for what I saw when I turned around. Nagi squeaked in surprise and I tipped the sunglasses down to look over them in disbelief.  
  
Farf stood before us, lacking all bandaging, head cocked to the side. A pair of tight, black, vinyl pants clung to his legs and a pair of new Dr. Martens. The scars crisscrossing his torso like the Xs over Marie Laveau's tomb shown pale through the tight fishnet of his shirt, a black, leather vest hanging open over his chest and matching bracers covering his wrists.  
  
"Ya know." I sighed, smirking softly as I pushed the glasses back up my nose with a sniff, "I don't think I've ever seen any guys quite as attractive as my two boys here." Laughing, I pulled Nagi to my one side and Farfie to my other, flashing the staring patrons a wicked grin.  
  
Megan giggled. "You look like such a pimp!"  
  
I looked out over the glasses once again, raising a brow and squeezing the boys tight. "And your point is?"  
  
Nagi actually bought the outfit, through much blushing and stammering, and Farf did, too. I don't think Megan would've let any of us leave without them if we'd dared to try. By the time we were headed home, I'm not sure exactly how much of the money Nagi had brought along was gone on clothes alone. All I know is that he finally got over the embarrassment enough to enjoy the company, and he and Megan were planning a shopping trip for just the two of them some time.  
  
We hit the road home, Megan barely able to see out the rear windshield, and turned the music up full blast. I leaned back in my seat, screaming at the ceiling and Megan laughed as she sang. It took a while to get Nagi singing along, too, but Farf fell right in, even though he'd never heard the songs before in his life.  
  
"Let's start a war! So who's to blame when it ends and starts to rain down!"  
  
We were all singing by the time we pulled into their driveway. When we weren't laughing, that is. Later Nagi admitted it was probably the most fun he'd had in years, maybe his whole life, and Farf. Well, Farfello just wanted to know when we got to do it again.  
  
* * *  
  
Draco: Tune in next week for an all-new episode of this screwed-up excuse for a fic! 


End file.
